Film Review - The Great Gatsby (2013)

Based off the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald and directed by veteran Australian director Baz Luhrmann, Gatsby tells the tale of Nick Calloway (Tobey Maguire) who comes to 1920's New York at the behest of his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) but Calloway is also being watched by his next door neighbour, a man named Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).

It would be correct to say that I went into this new version of the Great Gatsby with very mixed expectations, I was not familiar with the original book nor was I all that familiar with the 1974 film version which starred Robert Redford plus this new version did not have very good previews for it before its release, with all of that could the film pull a surprise move and leave me feeling enjoyed?

Well surprisingly it did, I actually did enjoy this film, mainly due to the direction and performances, Luhrmann though he REALLY overdoes it in the beginning directs the film in a way that feels lavish and theatrical which feels appropriate somewhat given the time period the film is set in, I also liked the costumes that were designed by Catherine Martin as well as some of the musical score which at times had me tapping my feet and at times thinking "make it stop, make it stop" as it was that darn loud.

The film also has some very good performances going for it, chief among them is DiCaprio who has really come into his own as an adult actor and become one of his generation's best, he infuses Gatsby with mystery, charisma and charm and its simply terrific to watch him in this role, I also liked Mulligan in her role which is rare for me as I haven't enjoyed her in films very much at all and I also thought Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke and Jack Thompson were great as well and it was sure nice to see a few Aussies in the film.

But alas the film has two pretty big flaws going for it and allow me to spell those out more clearly:

The first and the biggest is the casting of Maguire, frankly he is very miscast in this role as he comes as so dooey eyed and so wet behind the ears that he becomes not very interesting to watch and his role is crucial to the identity of the story, the entire time he was on screen I kept thinking "This role would a wonderful opportunity for a young Australian actor but no we get this guy instead and for what, so they can stick his name on the marketing as one more big star that's in this movie, what a shame", that said though he did warm on me somewhat towards the end of the film but by that point I didn't really care all that much about his character.

The other is that the film lacks a certain amount of emotional payoff when it comes to some key relationships in the film, as it went on I was waiting for certain moments which I won't give away here to have more of a payoff on an emotional level than they ultimately did in the film, it's sad that given how much the film works that it finds itself lacking in terms of those emotional stakes both in the casting of Maguire and in terms of the film's key relationships.

But all in all despite that, The Great Gatsby 2013 is a good time at the movies Old Sport and one that I think is worth checking out but see it in 2D as I don't think 3D would do much for this film, 3 out of 5.